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EmailNode vs TipTap Node

The editor uses EmailNode instead of TipTap’s standard Node, which is a class that extends Node. The key difference is a required renderToReactEmail() method that tells the serializer how to convert the node to a React Email component for HTML export. 
TipTap Node
├── name, group, content
├── parseHTML()
├── renderHTML()          ← How it looks in the editor
└── ...

EmailNode (extends Node)
├── name, group, content
├── parseHTML()
├── renderHTML()          ← How it looks in the editor
├── renderToReactEmail()  ← How it looks in the exported email HTML
└── ...

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Creating a custom node

Here’s a complete example of a custom “Callout” node that renders as a highlighted block: 
import { EmailNode } from '@react-email/editor/core';
import { mergeAttributes } from '@tiptap/core';

const Callout = EmailNode.create({
  name: 'callout',
  group: 'block',
  content: 'inline*',

  parseHTML() {
    return [{ tag: 'div[data-callout]' }];
  },

  renderHTML({ HTMLAttributes }) {
    return [
      'div',
      mergeAttributes(HTMLAttributes, {
        'data-callout': '',
        style:
          'padding: 12px 16px; background: #f4f4f5; border-left: 3px solid #1c1c1c; border-radius: 4px; margin: 8px 0;',
      }),
      0,
    ];
  },

  renderToReactEmail({ children, style }) {
    return (
      <div
        style={{
          ...style,
          padding: '12px 16px',
          backgroundColor: '#f4f4f5',
          borderLeft: '3px solid #1c1c1c',
          borderRadius: '4px',
          margin: '8px 0',
        }}
      >
        {children}
      </div>
    );
  },
});
Key methods:
  • parseHTML() — Defines which HTML elements get parsed into this node (for clipboard paste, HTML content)
  • renderHTML() — Controls how the node appears in the editor (in the browser DOM)
  • renderToReactEmail() — Controls how the node is serialized when exporting to email HTML via composeReactEmail

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Registering the extension

Add your custom extension to the extensions array alongside StarterKit: 
const extensions = [StarterKit, Callout];

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Inserting custom nodes

Use the editor’s insertContent command to programmatically insert your custom node: 
import { useCurrentEditor } from '@tiptap/react';

function Toolbar() {
  const { editor } = useCurrentEditor();
  if (!editor) return null;

  return (
    <button
      onClick={() =>
        editor
          .chain()
          .focus()
          .insertContent({
            type: 'callout',
            content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'New callout' }],
          })
          .run()
      }
    >
      Insert Callout
    </button>
  );
}

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Complete example

Here’s the full editor setup with the custom Callout extension, a toolbar, and a bubble menu: 
import { EmailNode } from '@react-email/editor/core';
import { StarterKit } from '@react-email/editor/extensions';
import { BubbleMenu } from '@react-email/editor/ui';
import { mergeAttributes } from '@tiptap/core';
import { EditorProvider, useCurrentEditor } from '@tiptap/react';
import { Info } from 'lucide-react';

const Callout = EmailNode.create({
  name: 'callout',
  group: 'block',
  content: 'inline*',

  parseHTML() {
    return [{ tag: 'div[data-callout]' }];
  },

  renderHTML({ HTMLAttributes }) {
    return [
      'div',
      mergeAttributes(HTMLAttributes, {
        'data-callout': '',
        style:
          'padding: 12px 16px; background: #f4f4f5; border-left: 3px solid #1c1c1c; border-radius: 4px; margin: 8px 0;',
      }),
      0,
    ];
  },

  renderToReactEmail({ children, style }) {
    return (
      <div
        style={{
          ...style,
          padding: '12px 16px',
          backgroundColor: '#f4f4f5',
          borderLeft: '3px solid #1c1c1c',
          borderRadius: '4px',
          margin: '8px 0',
        }}
      >
        {children}
      </div>
    );
  },
});

const extensions = [StarterKit, Callout];

const content = {
  type: 'doc',
  content: [
    {
      type: 'paragraph',
      content: [
        {
          type: 'text',
          text: 'This editor includes a custom Callout node. Use the toolbar to insert one.',
        },
      ],
    },
    {
      type: 'callout',
      content: [
        { type: 'text', text: 'This is a callout block — a custom extension!' },
      ],
    },
  ],
};

function Toolbar() {
  const { editor } = useCurrentEditor();
  if (!editor) return null;

  return (
    <button
      onClick={() =>
        editor
          .chain()
          .focus()
          .insertContent({
            type: 'callout',
            content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'New callout' }],
          })
          .run()
      }
    >
      <Info size={16} />
      Insert Callout
    </button>
  );
}

export function MyEditor() {
  return (
    <EditorProvider
      extensions={extensions}
      content={content}
      slotBefore={<Toolbar />}
    >
      <BubbleMenu.Default />
    </EditorProvider>
  );
}

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Wrapping existing TipTap extensions

Both EmailNode and EmailMark provide a .from() method that wraps an existing TipTap extension with email serialization support. This is useful when you want to reuse a community TipTap extension and add email export support without rewriting it. 
import { EmailNode } from '@react-email/editor/core';
import { Node } from '@tiptap/core';

const MyTipTapNode = Node.create({ /* ... */ });

const MyEmailNode = EmailNode.from(MyTipTapNode, ({ children, style }) => {
  return <div style={style}>{children}</div>;
});

import { EmailMark } from '@react-email/editor/core';
import { Mark } from '@tiptap/core';

const MyTipTapMark = Mark.create({ /* ... */ });

const MyEmailMark = EmailMark.from(MyTipTapMark, ({ children, style }) => {
  return <mark style={{ ...style, backgroundColor: '#fef08a' }}>{children}</mark>;
});
For full API details on all methods (create, from, configure, extend), see the EmailNode and EmailMark reference pages.

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Configure and extend

Both EmailNode and EmailMark support TipTap’s standard customization methods: 
// Configure options
const CustomHeading = Heading.configure({ levels: [1, 2] });

// Extend with additional behavior
const CustomParagraph = Paragraph.extend({
  addKeyboardShortcuts() {
    return {
      'Mod-Shift-p': () => this.editor.commands.setParagraph(),
    };
  },
});